Blitzkrieg Bop

The Ramones

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Lyrics

A simple cheer, the opening line of "Blitzkrieg Bop" is as memorable a song-starter as anything in rock n' roll.

Deep Thought

The Ramones were inspired to create the chant by another band that might surprise you: the slightly goofy Scottish boy pop band the Bay City Rollers, whose hit song "Saturday Night" used an infectious spelling chant as its chorus. "Hey ho, let's go!" followed a similar musical recipe... but somehow the Ramones managed to hang onto quite a bit more street cred than did their Scottish counterparts.

#SHBOOKCHAPTER#

"The blitzkrieg bop"

Quick Thought

Blitzkrieg - that's German for "lighting war" - was a type of warfare employed by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Deep Thought

Blitzkrieg tactics, which deployed mechanized forces in rapid and overwhelming attacks against enemy positions, helped the Nazis win a series of devastating victories early in World War II, overwhelming Germany's foes in places like Poland, Belgium, and France. In English, the word "blitzkrieg" - and especially it's shortened variant, "blitz" - has since been used to describe any kind of overwhelming rapid attack. (Think football here.) And "overwhelming rapid attack" isn't a bad description of the Ramones' sound; their frantic playing is the blitzkrieg bop.